Lay Me By Your Side
by AnneAquila
Summary: The tragic demise of a dear friend leaves Rin broken. His other friends help him grieve and heal as sinister things lurk underneath the surface. Gou's death begins to bring more and more disturbing things to light. Are anyone who they truly claim to be? [AKA the dark Rin Harem fic you never knew you needed!]


Hey guys! It's Aquila, with a new story for y'all!

I initially wrote this with a harem fic in mind, but one idea led to another and this monster came out.

The story is inspired by one of my all time favourite songs - 'Lay me Down' by Sam Smith. If you haven't heard it already, I strongly suggest you give it a listen before or after you read my work. This is part of a series of Rin Harem fics and a Tribute to Sam Smith. Hope you enjoy it!

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 **Lay Me by Your Side**

 **Chapter 1: Snow White, Blood Red**

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The breeze, once refreshing, was now cold and knifing on her cheek.

Twigs snapped under the blood red soles of her heels as she traversed the lonely path, roughly cobbled with uneven stones and choked with brambles and bindweed. The stark branches of the trees creaked sinisterly as she walked faster, breath shuddering with pent emotions and adrenaline. Gooseflesh erupted on her bare arms.

Mind clouded with crazed, half-conformed thoughts, she came to a stop. The signal was straight up ahead, red lights glowing faintly from behind an outcrop of trees. A fence of rusted wire separated her from the railway tracks running parallel to the path. The oiled steel slats gleamed brightly in the dark, a stark contrast to the overgrown dirt path and the wild woodland surrounding it.

A fluffy snowflake landed on her nose, soft and delicate.

Like a single footfall triggering an avalanche, a violent wave of emotions swept through Gou. It was relentless in its attack, deafening in its proportions. Everything that she had been keeping bottled up for the past couple of months up bubbled to the surface, begging to be let out.

Legs buckling beneath her, she collapsed on a mossy log. The lichen encrusted on the fissured surface dug into the thin chiffon material of her skirt, providing uncomfortable points of pain on her skin. She blew relentlessly on her hands, rubbing them together to get some friction to warm her numbing fingers.

She flinched as another draught of wind rushed past her, dead leaves rucking up her skirt. She was dressed poorly for a cold winter night, one with prospects of snowfall.

This evening had meant to be special. She had finally been able to let go of all the stress she had accumulated over the past two weeks due to her finals exams. She had made vague plans to go shopping, visit a salon for some pampering time, maybe grab a spot of lunch with Rei and Nagisa at that new restaurant that had opened downtown. Plans that would make her smile, kick back and just enjoy herself.

Things had been going down lately. The Swim Club had been all but dissolved after they had failed to produce results at Sectionals. Nagisa and Rei were great swimmers, but they just couldn't hold their own against the other competitors. The others had been even worse, their lack of dedication and proper practice shining through in their times and places. The school had made the decision to withdraw all forms of funding, and Miho Sensei had quit.

School was as droll as ever, and her grades were as average as they had ever been. Her guidance counselor had sat down to talk to her about her future choices and had promptly sent off a form to her mother after Gou had sat unresponsively through all three sessions.

The truth was, Gou didn't know what to do. She had no idea what she wanted to pursue in the had no clear ambitions or a vision in mind that she steadfastly wanted to follow for the rest of her life. She didn't have a dream like her brother, Rin.

There was no particular thing that she was good at, nothing that she could call her own. She had scraped through her exams with sheer willpower and daily doses of caffeine. She didn't even have anything to show for being the Manager of the Swim Club.

She wished her brother were here to guide her. He was so confident, so assured of himself. He would know what she wanted to do. He would be able to dissect these conflicting thoughts and feelings and help her figure out what she truly wanted.

Even if he couldn't, his presence alone would be a great comfort to Gou. He had a knack for understanding what was wrong before she even brought anything up. He acknowledged everything she felt and listened to what she had to say. His advice was always well thought out, and even if he didn't have any immediate solutions, his reassurances were enough to carry her on through the next day.

However, Rin was busy. Extremely so. He was far away competing in the Youth Olympics and preparing for National selections while simultaneously juggling a university education and professional training in Sydney. She couldn't bother him with all her trivial problems, even if she missed him desperately.

To cap things off, her relationship with Sei had been going downhill for a while. She had refused to see the signs, smoothing over jagged cracks and praying that everything would work out in the end. He had called around midday, asking her to come over to his place for dinner.

Antsy as she was over their relationship, she didn't want to refuse. She wanted at least one thing in her life to work out. A small validation.

She had cancelled her initial dining plans with Rei and Nagisa, as well as her salon appointment and shopping trip with Chigusa at the mall. She had changed into a new outfit, opting to look pretty even if the weather forecast read chances of snowfall later on in the evening.

An angel blouse in a pleasing shade of lemon yellow, paired with a flared A-line skirt in indigo chiffon. A new pair of black pencil heels with a dramatic blood red sole. Feathery earrings.

She had wondered why she still put this much effort into her appearance when they met. Was it a ploy on her part to make him stay?

Minimal makeup. Clear gloss over peach pie lipstick. A spray of rose cologne.

She had known that it would take at least an hour to reach Sei's place by train. She would have to pay for a return ticket, so twice as much cash.

She had stood forever in her room, glancing at her reflection in the mirror, smoothening out the wrinkles on her belted coat, counting out her change until the very last yen. Hoping that she wouldn't have to go, that something would happen at the last second to prolong the inevitable.

But nothing had happened. She had left, kissing her mother goodbye and promising to not come back too late.

It had all gone down from there.

' _Why did you call me over, Sei?'_

' _Look, there's something I have to tell you…'_

And God, it had hurt. _(WHY?!)_

 **Anger.**

 _(Why now?!)_

 **Frustration.**

 _(Why him? Was I just a replacement? All this time?)_

 **Fury.**

 _(How dare you?! How dare you keep this from me for so long?)_

 **A deep visceral pain.**

 _(What did I do to deserve this?)_

Hot boiling tears leaked out, steaming on her frozen skin.

 ** _I hate you._**

 ** _You used me._**

 ** _I hope you rot in hell._**

The snowflakes began to fall faster, churning into a drifting sleet. Smoky clouds rose ominously in the distance.

Her house was still a while away. The train station was located outside Iwatobi proper and the bus service had closed an hour ago. Gou had chosen to walk the remaining distance home, hoping the bracing air could help clear her head and come to terms with what had transpired.

She had taken the shortcut past the express signal. The path was one she knew well, Rin had taken her here on many an occasion to watch the trains screeching past or to catch fireflies in jam bottles.

Thoughts of her brother made her smile. Dusting off her skirt, she got up to walk the rest of the way home, feeling much better about herself.

She knew she wouldn't be able to avoid the topic with her family. Her mother would ask her what had happened, visiting Sei was a rarity ever since he moved out of town. Him calling her over would mean something of drastic importance. And of course, Rin deserved to know. He would be angry, first and foremost. Furious on her behalf, given the fact that _he_ was the one who had agreed to let her date Sei.

Gou sighed softly. He would be even more shocked to know exactly _why_ Sei had broken up with her in the first place.

Her heels crunched on the coarse gravel as she neared the signal. The night was dark and foggy, the only light coming from the spluttering red of the signal lamp.

Gou shifted uneasily as she felt a telltale rumble on the tracks. A train was approaching. She wondered whether it would be stopping at the signal. Most expresses didn't.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a huddled figure. It was shuffling wearily across the tracks, bogged down with bags and winter draperies.

'Hey! Move! There's a train coming!'

The figure dropped their bags, sinking to the ground in exhaustion.

'What are you doing? Get off the tracks!'

No response.

Dimly, she could hear a screeching whistle, the roar of an engine.

Without a thought, driven purely on instinct, Gou rushed forward and pushed the figure off the tracks, sending them sprawling onto the dirt. Her bare touch told her that it was an old woman. She had probably walked down from the station too, on the opposite path.

The train was coming, Gou could feel it. The entire track was shuddering. The shrill noise drilled into her ears. She had to get off the track.

Suddenly, she found herself stumbling.

 _My heels. I wore heels to see Sei._

The train came.

It didn't stop for the signal.

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The last thing that Gou saw were lights. Bright, blinding lights. She thought of Rin, wishing she had called at least once to tell him how she felt. To tell him how proud she was.

The impact was sudden. Somewhere in the hazy fog of her consciousness, she could feel her bones splintering, her blood spilling crimson on the dank earth. The pain was brutal, her nerves on fire as it licked through her limbs.

Black.

All black.

Gou closed her eyes.

 _ **I love you, Rin.**_

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So, that's chapter 1 for you guys. The next chapter will be out soon! Kindly comment and let me know your ideas and thoughts.

ALSO: I'm going to start a one shot collection for Free! ships starring Rin. So any Rin ships you want written, please drop them along with your prompts in the comments below or my inbox. I'd love to draw inspirations from them!

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(AK) Aah! Aquila, this is awesome! It sent a javelin through my stomach, but asdfg!


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